Electoral College update: Romney rebounds; more states back in toss-up category

Welcome to our weekly Electoral College update. Every Monday morning between now and Election Day, Nov. 6, we will analyze the latest poll results from the 12 most competitive states and let you know which ones are more Republican than the national average and which are more Democratic. We’ll also give you an update on any major shifts in the battleground states in the preceding week.

The big picture:

Mitt Romney had started to narrow the gap in national polls even before his debate victory on Wednesday night. The most recent polls show clear movement to Romney in most of the swing states. President Obama now does not have clear leads in enough states to win the magic 270 electoral votes. But Romney still doesn’t have a safe lead in any swing state. The president’s average lead in the national popular vote has dipped from 4.0 percent to 1.4 percent since last week.